


The One with the Curse

by 0fficiallyLeah



Series: A.V.E.N.G.E.R.S + [1]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angry Birds, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Attempt at Humor, F/M, Fairy Tale Elements, Feelings, Friends to Lovers (stucky), Gen, I Don't Even Know, M/M, Magic, Mission Fic, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Pre-Slash (clintasha), Sam Wilson Is a Good Bro, Slow Build, Steve Needs a Hug, Swearing, Teamwork, Witch Curses, avenger problems, brief mentions of the past, some violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-10
Updated: 2015-04-10
Packaged: 2018-03-22 00:11:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,233
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3708171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/0fficiallyLeah/pseuds/0fficiallyLeah
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Stark thought it would be funny to give the cat a bath. First touch of water and we wound up with an extremely pissed off, naked, ex-winter soldier swearing in Russian. He stayed normal for about twenty minutes before returning to that, and we still don't know why. Stark is in trouble because apparently he may be looking and acting like a seven year old, but he still has his brains and tried to deactivate Jarvis because he was 'a meanie'. Banner is talking to inanimate objects and Barton is talking to birds."</p><p> </p><p>Or: A witch casts a curse and things aren't really that bad until suddenly they are.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The One with the Curse

**Author's Note:**

> i dont even know. just an idea i couldn't get rid of. 
> 
> no beta. please forgive the mistakes.
> 
> I do not own the Avengers. Obviously

The bomb exploded. Bucky hadn't been fast enough to stop it.

* * *

(Three days earlier.)

"A witch. A witch? Like, you mean like... a witch? A real witch?"

"Ignore Capsicle, it would appear his brain hasn't completely thawed after the big freeze." Tony cut off Steve's stammering.

"I understand your confusion, Captain, but I assure you this is not commonplace. I heard tale of her while in Asgard - she is from another realm where magic is available to everyone. However, she grew bored with her fellow people and sought place where she would be without equal. I am afraid she came to earth for this purpose."

"Does she have flying monkeys too?" Bucky joked.

"No, she has no animals of any kind that I am aware of. She would be hard to fight one on one with great casualties, but I do think against us all, she can be stopped." Thor explained. 

"I'm game - I am so tired of this shit-hole." 

"First off: Rude. And Secondly: Who said you were going? You may have been cleared for living in the tower, which was only two weeks ago and I'm still trying to overturn, but that doesn't mean you're cleared for fighting. One bad word and you could wipe us all out."

"Oh, grow a pair Stark. You just worry about if that suit is going to be enough to protect when I decide I really can't take anymore of you, until then I'm fine and I'm fighting." Bucky uncrossed his arms incase anyone else had any ideas of objecting.

"I called Sam. He's in. I told him we'd lock him out if he didn't go though, so if he mentions it that's not a lie, k?" Clint spoke up from his perch on the back of the couch. 

"Let's just get this over with." Bruce sighed. Everyone dispersed to gather their things, except for Steve and Bucky.

"Do you think she'll be green?" Steve asked.

"I don't know, maybe. But you know we'll be okay, right? You knocked out Hilter over 200 times. You can handle an old witch." 

* * *

They could barely handle the old witch. Tony had made the mistake on commenting on her looking like a twelve year old and not only did he have his ass handed to him, but they got a very angry lecture about just how old she really was. Bucky and Clint had to move from keeping an eye on things at firing distance to actually being within spitting distance of the fight. Things were unsettling. Bucky had recalled parts of his past where some of the equipment Hydra had had seemed like magic, but that was all put to shame compared to her. They were fighting in the middle of an abandoned amusement park somewhere in Ohio, and it still felt like they were on top of each other - packed in tight. They were getting frustrated with themselves mostly, but that didn't stop them from taking it out on one another. Natasha had been thrown back by a particularly hard shove of magic and had almost taken Sam's head off when he had offered her a hand up. Steve had stopped throwing his shield because one had ricocheted wrong and had severely pissed off the Hulk. If they didn't stop her soon they'd end up fighting each other instead. Thor seemed to realize this as he managed to knock her down when she tried to dodge one of Clint's trick arrows. No one had time to react as Natasha stabbed her deep in her stomach, but the witch just smiled a bloodied grin, "And after the gift I prepared for you too." She died cackling. It was definitely going to cause some nightmares. No one had time to question what the hell the crazy lady was talking about before the hairs on the back of Bucky's neck rose and he new something was wrong. He managed to find the box containing the bomb in record time with a surprising amount of accuracy, but not soon enough.

The bomb exploded. Bucky hadn't been fast enough to stop it. They were all cloaked in a deep red violet gas, and one by one they fell.

* * *

Agent Hill was the one who found them. She managed to wake them all except for Thor. He could hardly stay awake longer than a minute before falling asleep and then jerking awake like some narcoleptic episode. It was the weirdest thing, until Steve rushed to ask Bucky how he felt and his 'I'm fine' was quickly followed by him turning into a black fur-ball of a kitten. Needless to say Steve quickly scooped him up and then freaked the hell out.

"Okay people. Can you please calm down, Rogers, I need a few minutes to wrap my head around the fact that he's a cat before I can answer why. Thor, can you please try to stop snoring and possibly try to think about what is happening. Stark, stop giggling like a preschooler and take off the suit so Banner can check over you, along with everyone else, for injury. And yes, Romanov, that means you - what the? Did your hair just grow?"

Sure enough, Natasha, who definitely had a broken ankle and probably a few ribs by the way she was holding herself, now had hair at least half a foot longer than it had been only moments ago. The confusion continued from there when Bruce finally got Jarvis to open Tony's suit - 'I don't care what protocols he's trying to override just open the damn suit' - only to find a pint size version of the genius pouting inside.

"Oh for Heaven's sake. I can't handle this. Everyone load up. Wilson, if you're feeling close to normal, you stay back. We need to sweep the area. I'll call Fury to meet you at the tower."

* * *

Sam and Agent Hill arrived in the common room of the tower to find things there along the same line as before. Natasha's hair was even longer. Steve seemed more content with kitten Bucky. Tony was  mumbling in the corner, probably in time out. Bruce was reading a book, Thor was passed out, and Clint was talking to some birds. It almost seemed normal. The tick in Fury's eye suggested differently. 

"I feel like, for health reasons, you should probably say what you found out first." Sam said to Fury. It might've been the heaviest sigh Sam had ever heard.

"Stark thought it would be funny to give the cat a bath. First touch of water and we wound up with an extremely pissed off, naked, ex-winter soldier swearing in Russian. He stayed normal for about twenty minutes before returning to that, and we still don't know why. Stark is in trouble because apparently he may be looking and acting like a seven year old but he still has his brains and tried to deactivate Jarvis because he was 'a meanie'. Banner is talking to inanimate objects and Barton is talking to birds."

"Sir," Agent Hill tried to interject.

"No, I mean literally having a fucking conversation, bringing him things, talking to birds."

"Right." Sam was at a loss for words. "Well, the only thing we found was this letter. It was found in the box with the gas bomb." He passed it over, before going to join Steve on the couch. "Can I hold him?" The hiss was so loud it scared away Clint's birds.

"Just read it out loud." Natasha spoke up. 

"' _I've been watching you, earth's mightiest avengers. I knew you'd come for me_

 _and you might think you've succeeded, but let me tell you a story._ ' Seriously? Rhyming? She felt the need to create a curse and leave a poorly rhymed note too.

' _Once upon a time, there was a curse._ ' No shit.

' _(Because some kids stuck their noses where they didn't belong)._

_Once every role is broken, it will be reversed._

_Some will be more obvious than others,_

_but if you don't discover them all_

_you'll be stuck like this forever.'_ Well fan-fucking-tastic. Who knows what the hell she's talking about?"

"Thor may know if we can keep him awake long enough for the conversation." Sam suggested.

"Good luck with that." Bruce said, closing his book. "Jarvis,"

"Yes, sir."

"Can you run a search of fairytales? All versions."

"I'm afraid I can only search stories found on earth. Seeing as the witch was not from here the context of folk lore and fairy tales alike may differ greatly."

"At this point anything will work. In the meantime, lets see if we can figure out Natasha and Bucky's situations."

* * *

Natasha had determined, herself, that her hair was her weakness personified. She didn't realize that it turned it into something she could no longer easily ignore. Her blatant refusal for help or being taken care of in anyway caused her hair to grow. If she lied about how she was feeling - her hair grew. When she couldn't get up to make herself something to eat, she said she wasn't hungry - her hair grew. When Clint asked her if she was upset about the stupid curse, she said 'Don't be stupid' - her hair grew. She wasn't willing to talk more about the matter, just told the other's she was going to bed. Bruce suggested after she left that it had to be some other explanation, though he didn't know what. They all agreed that if there was one thing Natasha wasn't - it was weak. 

As for Bucky, they had thought maybe it worked similar to Natasha. However, Sam pointed out that if he wasn't hurt or anything then it was going to be harder to detect. After being coddled for most of the day and having his tail tweaked one to many times by Tony, Bucky was angry enough to try anything - which never went well. He seemed to contemplate something before stabbing himself with a steak knife in the foot. He refused help, refused medical treatment, he even got up and walked around and not once did he transform. Clint had even made some wise crack about had Steve have done that then Bucky would've had his head, to which he replied with, 'Damn straight'.

Next they tried emotions. Clint tried to scare him, which never worked before, but now that he could simply ask the birds to randomly dive bomb him, it was a little unnerving.

"It won't be funny when I leave one on your door step, Barton." Bucky had maintained form. Sam decided that anger probably wasn't the trigger. They kind of unanimously agreed that that was really Bucky's only emotion besides tolerating, at least while with the other avengers. Steve had tried to insist that it wasn't true, but Bucky out voted him. Bruce told Bucky to just start talking, to tell them a story or a joke, thinking it was an unconscious reaction to something. So he told them about Coney Island. Talked about how him and Stevie scraped up enough money to go at least once during the summer even though it was too hot outside for it. He talked about Steve puking and how one of the hot dog vendors had given them to much change and Steve wanted to return it but he wouldn't let him. He paused, lost in thought, and Steve asked if he remembered what they had used the change for. He shook his head, and then disappeared in a pile of clothes. Tony suggested that maybe it was flashbacks. So they turned him back and tried again. Next he told them about the time he had set double dates for him and Steve with the Francis' sisters and he didn't realize that there were three and the one that came for Steve was taller than Bucky and it was the worst date ever. Again he turned. The next time he only got three words in before he transformed - 'When I enlisted'.

It took just giving up all together before Steve figured it out. It had been more of a fluke, really. They had decided to call it a night, after Jarvis informed them the information wouldn't be ready until in the morning, and Steve and Bucky were in their kitchen. Steve found that the leftover chili he had been saving for dinner tonight was gone. He knew Bucky had eaten it. He was the only one, beside Steve and Thor, who could've finished off such a large portion in just a day's time, but Steve jokingly asked him anyway. The 'No' was said before the sound of an angry meow. When it clicked into place what was happening, he pointedly left Bucky to his own devices and went to bed.

* * *

The next morning Steve found everyone, including human Bucky, in the common kitchen eating breakfast. Natasha had apparently decided to practically shave her hair off. Bruce was talking to the microwave as if it were responding. Clint was feeding birds at the table. Sam, still completely normal, was making iron man pancakes for Tony, and from the sound of it Thor was still asleep on the couch. Steve hadn't slept one wink during the night and was not in his usual chipper, good morning mood.

"Now that Captain Rogers has joined us, I have a list of stories that are most likely similar to the ones the witch has cursed you with. I did contact an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D who had the means to reach Lady Sif of Asgard. She was able to shed a great deal of light on the situation." Jarvis said.

"Thor is believed to mimic that of Snow White. However, in her version, I'm told that though Snow White was the rightful heir she was deemed unfit for the throne because her stepmother made it impossible for her to sleep at night and she was to proud to tell anyone. Thus making it almost impossible for her to stay awake for her duties during the day. In true fashion, Thor managed to stay awake throughout the night. He managed to provide information as well. Agent Barton is Cinderella. From rags to riches and able to communicate with birds, so far I have yet to find a downside to the story. Lady Sif is doing further research. Sergeant Barnes is a version of Pinocchio. I have determined that he will transform every time he tells a lie. Although, I regret to inform you that it is possible the longer he stays in cat form the more he will act like one. Dr. Banner is believed to mimic that of Beauty and the Beast. In Thor's version, the two were one and when not in balance with each other it caused temporary insanity. Agent Romanov is a version of Rapunzel. It seems that in one version, she trapped herself in the tower and forced herself to overcome what she perceived as weakness, so much so that her hair began to grow faster in order to allow her to escape the confinement. As for Mr. Wilson and Captain Rogers I have not gathered enough information on either of you to determine your story. And finally, Mr. Stark is absolutely without a doubt Peter Pan." Stunned silence filled the room.

"How the hell are we suppose to break the curse if we don't even know who those two are?" Bucky demanded.

"We could run more tests?" Tony suggested.

* * *

By lunch, and after the third person had tripped over Natasha's hair, Sam called off the tests and instead called a group meeting. The fact was that even if they figured out the last two stories they still couldn't keep ignoring their own problems. Even Tony was beginning to get fed up with being a kid, especially when Pepper called and used her mom voice. Bucky had elected to stay a kitten, if only so he could better hide from Steve's betrayed glares, but Steve had other plans. He had been keeping a water bottle on hand since breakfast. Even with all that going on, Sam and Clint agreed that Natasha was going to be the hardest one to crack. So one on one, mandatory, therapy sessions with Sam began, and boy had they been wrong. 

Natasha simply accepted it. She admitted it was hard. She admitted it wasn't going to be something she changed right away. She didn't know enough about who she really was, or wanted to be, yet. The mission had always come first and she had learned to be who they needed her to be, but if she was anything - she was stubborn. "Besides," she surmised, "I just have to let my guard down to one person in order to break the role, and I already trust Clint above all else with my life, why not with everything else too." Sam hadn't even said a word.

Next was Bruce. He and Sam meditated for an hour and he promised to try and breathe before talking to appliances.

Then there was Tony. His was simple. He had relied on being a little shit to get attention from his parents while he was away at boarding school, and then after they passed away he did the same thing to get the media's attention. It was something he naturally fell back on when it felt like people were moving on without him. Sam told him that he had a good group of true friends and Pepper, and it was because of that that he was allowed a few smart-ass remarks now and then. 'But I guarantee you with this group, you being an asshole for no good reason is only going to end in an extremely bad ending prank war, and ain’t nobody gonna be the winner then'.

Clint was cool.

Bucky managed to find a good hiding spot in time for his session - even Steve couldn't find him.

* * *

That night Steve couldn't sleep again, so instead of staring at the ceiling all night he went to the common room to visit Thor. He found him eating in the kitchen. Seeing all the food Thor had piled on the table made him realize he had yet to eat anything since before the battle with the witch. He didn't feel hungry. He really just wanted to sleep, but every time he tried to close his eyes he felt like there was something coming for him. He had even tried at one point last night to sleep with the lights on, but that only seemed to make it worse. He didn't have the patience to deal with it tonight. His mind kept supplying him with other scenarios where Bucky might've lied to him. Like when he said he liked living in the tower. Or that he enjoyed completing the things on Steve's list. Or that he felt safe with Steve. How many times had he openly lied to him and Steve had never known.  

"Jarvis informs me that you too have not slept since we fought. We were running through ideas of what fate has been aligned to you and Sam Wilson." 

"Stories, Thor, they're stories." 

"Perhaps." Thor shrugged.

"I believe I have found a similarity between Mr. Wilson and Jack and the Beanstalk."

"If this ends with him killing all of us - I don't know how that's going to go." Steve laid his head on the table.

"Nay, Captain. The story of Jack is one of merriment in Asgard. The orphan Jack is welcomed by the giants into their home and is provided with family and protection. I agree with Jarvis the similarities between the two makes it seem most likely. Which means only you are left to decipher. Tell me what else ails you beside the lack of sleeping."

* * *

At dawn Thor began to fall asleep off and on again. Steve managed to move him to the couch, before moving to clean up the kitchen and to go ahead and start breakfast. Usually Natasha and Bruce would be the first ones awake, but today it was Clint who grumpily stomped into the kitchen viciously swinging at the birds flying around his head. "Leave me the hell alone. No, I will not talk to your mother. Because she's your fucking mother - you talk to her. Yea, well, I agree with her. A robin shouldn't date a blue jay. Because they're mean." He didn't seem to notice Steve standing there gaping at him. "Yea, they are! Almost as bad as mockingbirds. Stupid mockingbirds." Clint knocked shoulders with Steve on his way to the coffee machine causing him to realize he wasn't alone. "I found a fucking downside to the story. I bet you a hundred, no a thousand bucks that Cinderella went crazy with the yapping and the flapping and the damn tweeting! I swear to never tweet again if you will just make it stop." He was almost in tears - it was kind of terrifying. Before Steve could think of a proper response, a black fur-ball launched from on top of the refrigerator onto the largest of the birds. Then all hell broke loose. 

Bucky was able to manage the one bird on his own, even if it was bigger than him, but soon the other nine birds began to attack him as well. Steve barely managed to grab Bucky and keep him out of reach while Clint was shouting at the birds to stop, but that just seemed to make them angrier. Steve had them chasing him around the whole common floor, before Clint managed to shoot two down. That was when they turned on him. There wasn't much Steve could do to help, but thankfully Jarvis had seen to it that Natasha was notified and between her and Clint the birds were quickly dispatched. Steve was barely scratched, but poor Bucky seemed to be in a lot of pain if his pitiful noises were anything to go by. 

"You guys finish up breakfast. I'm going to go take care of him." He didn't wait for a response. "You want to be manhandled as a cat or as a human?" Bucky simply purred while rubbing his head against Steve's hand before promptly biting the tar out of his finger. "Mmhm. Well, I would say your pain tolerance as a human would probably be better, but you would also be more able to fight me, but then again I just got to get you to lie and poof. And it's not like you have a problem with lying to me, right?" He held the kitten up to his face. "You've probably been doing it since forever. Since you had a skinny little nobody following half a step behind you at least. But best friends." Steve set Bucky on the bathroom counter. He knew his tone was turning bitter and sarcastic, but couldn't make himself stop talking. "Best fucking pals. How many people have I told that too? How many times have I lied awake at night and thought - nothing, I never thought nothing. It always seemed to good to be true being able to keep you around, I never thought of more." He was talking more to himself as he searched the cabinets for first aid, completely lost in thought. It wasn't until he finally located the alcohol and the cotton balls that he noticed Bucky trying to turn on the sink faucet. "No, you don't." He picked him up and brought him to the living room. He was startled when he found Sam there sitting on the couch.

"Hey man, Jarvis informed me that you haven't been sleeping. You think it's the curse or is there something you wanted to talk about? I mean I know I didn't mandate therapy for you, but if you need to talk you know I'd listen." He seemed to only then notice Bucky. "Shit, Nat said it was bad, but poor dude has got to be in pain." Bucky didn't even bother to pay Sam any attention, instead he was completely focused on Steve, and he couldn't handle it.

"Actually, it is pretty bad. Would you mind cleaning the wounds for me though? I was going to try and go for a run to clear my head, before the whole angry birds thing. Plus, he did bail on his session yesterday, so you can hold him hostage afterward and make him talk about his feelings." There was a pitiful meow. "If you can find a way to ask him only yes and no questions you could keep him as a kitten and then he can't kill you." He didn't wait as he passed the small bundle to Sam and then left.

"I don't know what you did, but I'm pretty positive that had nothing to do with the curse." He set to work cleaning the small cuts all over Bucky in complete silence. 

* * *

Bucky may not have killed Sam, because honestly he really did like the guy, instead he scratched the living daylights out of him until he threw a glass of water on him and told him to go fix things with Steve - if only he could find him. Jarvis had confirmed he had left the tower, but after spending all day searching everywhere in New York that he could think of, he returned empty handed. It was past one in the morning when he stumbled into the elevator, hoping to find out Steve had returned long before him, but Jarvis informed him that wasn't the case. 'However, Thor is in the common room and has ask that I gather everyone as soon as you arrived. I believe it has to do with Captain Rogers'. So Bucky went to join them.

"I had asked Jarvis to keep me inform in regards to the Captain, because he was the only story we had not uncovered. I had hoped that it would be of simple matter, but I fear that it is far worse than we initially believed. It seems that he has been fated with the story of Little Red Riding Hood."

"It's nothing like our version is it?" Tony asked.

"Little Red was forced to see the thing she loved most being destroyed by this evil being. She slowly becomes consumed with regret for not being strong enough to protect her cherished one and with fear that she would be next. Eventually, this drives her to seek revenge and to destroy the evil being, but she is lost in the battle. Given the circumstances, I believe we may be nearing the time of the battle. His death would cause the curse to be unbreakable."

"I know how to find him. You guys figure the fuck out how to break your roles on the way to save his ass." Bucky wasn't about to lose that little punk. Not now, not ever. Bucky didn't know if it would work, but he promised himself that as soon as Steve was safe he would tell him the truth. He hoped that following through would somehow break his role.

* * *

Fury called in some old favors and found four bases Steve had managed to take down in just the one day - none of which were actually in New York. It was just past four-thirty in the morning when they tracked him down to a fifth base. The whole thing was in chaos. An alarm was blaring, the top floor had black smoke flooding out the windows, shots were coming from inside, and the air smelt of gasoline and burning flesh. They only had two hours before Thor would become more of a liability then a help. However, the only thing the team seemed to be able to think about was that Steve was somewhere inside the burning building and they planned on saving him.

Natasha was the one who found him first in the stair well: back flat against the wall with a hand around his throat and a gun to his head. He didn't look anything like the national icon she was used to. He looked feral, like a wild animal cornered. It turned her stomach to lead. It was Clint who fired off the shot to take care of the Hydra agent. He didn't mention her freezing up, just pressed a firm hand against the small of her back. Through the touch she could tell he was nervous as well, but she allowed it to comfort her instead of trying to block it out. With nothing keeping him still, Steve shot off like a rocket up towards the higher floors. Natasha radioed it in before they followed after him. 

The next person who crossed paths with Steve was Tony and the Hulk. He gave no indication that he cared who they were except for shooting everyone in the room but them. He wasn't wearing his patriotic uniform, wasn't even carrying his sheld, instead all he had on was dark jeans and what was once a white cotton shirt now stained red in blood. Tony couldn't tell if it was his or Hydra's. He had a grenade launcher hanging of one shoulder and two automatic hand guns. The Hulk even seemed hesitant to approach him, instead shifting back in to Bruce to appear less threatening. Tony tried to stop him though. He needed to keep him from moving on to the upper floors. They were already on four. That was half way to the burning floor that would inevitablly be coming to meet them. His gut was telling him to make some wise crack remark. To make Steve fight him instead of climbing to his death, but even at his best Steve couldn't stand the fake front Tony put on. So instead, he did what hurt. He talked about his father. Talked about how much he cared for and believed in Steve and all that he stood for. He told hold him that what he was doing now wasn't good. It wasn't right. But it didn't work, and Steve slipped out of reach and up to the next floor.

Bucky and Thor worked together starting from the seventh floor down. They both agreed that if they could wipe out the enemy working down from the fire while Steve worked up, then it would keep him from getting trapped in the fire. Bucky was most likely to get through to Steve and Thor was the best to go up against him in a fight if it came down to it. Sam had stayed outside keeping an eye for any agents trying to escape and keeping everyone informed on how things looked. The sixth floor had gone up in a blaze just as Bucky had closed the stair lift doors. As they moved to the next door Sam confirmed his suspicions. It wasn't a normal fire. It was moving to fast and there certaintly hadn't been anything on the last two floors to make it so hot. Hydra was destroying evidence and slowly this whole place would be burning down to the ground. He wasn't planning on let Steve go along with it. He ordered the rest of the avengers to get out now. There wasn't any point of getting them all trapped in the death trap. 'You just focus on Cap.' Tony had ordered back, and instead of listening, becasue they never listen, the four remaining memebers began to collect as much data as they could. 

They found Steve on the fifth floor and Bucky's heart lodged in his throat. He pushed the onslaught of memories of when that used to be him back as he watched Steve kill one person after another. He was rittled with gashes and more holes then Bucky cared to count and still he kept moving. Thor began to fight Steve. It wasn't him. It was the damn curse, and there were only two ways to stop it: capture him now (and then its only a matter of time before he escapes and starts all over again) or break the curse - break the role.

Natasha broke by accepting that it was okay to have wants and needs.

Clint broke by killing birds.

Tony broke by knowing when his friends needed him to be serious and when it was okay to make jokes - because he was an adult.

Bruce broke by confessing that now when he feels unbalanced and angry at 'the other guy' he ran equations with Jarvis - because he was an A.I and not an inanimate object.

Thor broke by confessing that nightmares of losing his brother often kept him awake at night and is much of the reason of why he gave up the throne. Sam told him he would listen if he ever wanted to talk about it.

Sam broke by being himself, by not letting everyone take care of him but by returning the favor.

Bucky was going to break Steve by showing him that he didn't lose Bucky to Hydra by breaking himself and telling Steve the truth no matter how much it scared him.

That was until the hairs on the back of Bucky's neck rose and he didn't know if they would have enough time.

He didn't know if he'd be able to locate it.

The bomb exploded. Bucky hadn't been fast enough to stop it.

* * *

 

 

 

 

...

 

 

 

* * *

It had taken Steve two day to wake up. More so from the extent of his injuries than from the explosion. Bucky had never been so grateful that Thor could fly. Or that he was strong enough to carry two super soldiers. The way Thor had pinned Steve had protected him from the impact of the bomb. It was the fact that Thor was pretty much a god and that Bucky was moving with the blast as it happened that saved them. Bucky had been unconscious for a day, but once he past Bruce's evaluations he quickly got his ass chewed by every member of the team (even Thor once he woke up for the night). 

It took one day from the time Bucky woke up to when Steve did and he never once left his side. At one point he did try to deny he was tired and in need of rest and prompty turned back into a kitten. He decided to give up on any dignity he had left and instead curled up to sleep at Steve's side. He had spent countless time pacing that small room trying to find the words to say for when Steve woke up and then he ended up not even being able to talk to him when Steve did because of his form. 

Clint was more than happy to right the situation. Tony was decent enough to supply clothes afterwards.

"What are you doing here?" Steve asked, voice rough before Bucky passed him water. 

"We need to talk."

"Yea, I don't think so. Now, are you going to unshackle me from the bed or am I going to have to break them?"

"Good luck with that. Are you going to listen or do I need to get Clint to bring me duct tape?"

"Fuck off. You don't get to make orders!"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Bucky demanded.

"Not a damn thing. You're the one who's changed. Hydra changed you. That damn Nazi war camp changed you. Working down at the docks changed you. The Bucky I knew, the one I grew up with. No, the Bucky I fell in love with wouldn't have lied to me. Not about something important." Bucky felt the angry seep into his veins.

"So, I've changed. I've been tortured and manipulated and been to hell and back and the thing that's bothering you is that I lied about enlisting. Well to frickin' bad. Yea, I admit it - I was drafted. I couldn't leave you! And it has nothing to do with feeling responsible for you, it was becasue I didn't want too. Why do you think I insisted on always double dating? It sure as hell wasn't for the dames. And why do you think I insisted on doing the photo booth at Coney Island? It sure wasn't because I wanted to remember how much I had sweat that day! Geez, Stevie. You've been it for me for a long time. So yea, I've changed. I've had poison pushed into my veins and I had my whole life erased and yet I still came back to you. My heart still only beats for you - you damn punk. So yea, I lied. I lied because I've been in love with my best friend for as long as I can remember and it was the only way to keep him from finding out - what're you gong to do about it?"

Steve kissed him. Kissed him like he was finally able to breath and Bucky returned in kind. He wrapped his arms around his neck and ran a hand through his hair and finally felt alive again after so many years of being dead. Bucky felt something inside of him break, and when he pulled back to look at Steve, it was like he was seeing Bucky for the first time.

"It's gone, isn't it?" Steve asked, not daring to move away from him. Like Bucky would let him.

"I don't love you." Bucky said and then paused. A giant smile breaking across his face. "Yea, it's definitly gone." And he kissed him again. 


End file.
